(Scars do not appear to be cause of death –shock ... - Bad Request

"Well..." Morte paused. "Yeah, there's one other thing you should know -
the YOU I knew before, the YOU that led us here, he wasn't like you. At all."
"What do you mean?"
"The other YOU, he... he didn't care very much for anybody. For anyone. We
could have ALL died in the Fortress, and he wouldn't have blinked. So... I just
want you to hold on to your differences, because... well, I like this you
better. A LOT better."
"But that's not all you want to say, is it?"
"No..." Morte paused. "There's one other thing - I may not have liked that
other you very much, but he was one smart basher - the smartest basher
I've ever known; he always had every angle covered. If he died at the
Fortress, that means... well..." he trailed off.
"You don't think I can succeed, do you?"
"No..." Morte shook his head. "It's not that, chief. Because it's not always
who's smartest, or who's the most powerful, or who's the toughest...
sometimes it comes down to who you are and what you really want. I mean,
once you wanted to become immortal - but in the end, is that really what
you wanted? Just be sure of what you want this time, is all I'm saying."
"Fair enough. Look, Morte... we haven't really talked about this, but you
know you don't have to come with me to this place, right? I'll understand if
you don't want to."
"Yeah... I know, chief. And I can't lie to you... I don't want to go... but I will.
Just know that once we step through that portal, it isn't going to be just
about you anymore. This is our lives you're playing with, and we don't get
back up when we die."
"It's because of what Ravel said in the maze. And the symbol Fell described
for us." Grace's voice was soft, so soft I almost missed it. "Isn't it, Morte?"
"What Ravel said, in the maze - and what Fell said about that symbol,
Torment? They say you draw people who suffer to you, like a lodestone."
Morte shook his head. "Maybe it's because you've been suffering all this
1125